Mayor says NYC Marathon won't divert resources

Workers assemble the finish line for the New York City Marathon in New York's Central Park, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. / AP Photo/Richard Drew

NEW YORK The blue and orange finish line is in place in Central Park, no superstorm debris in sight.

Little else is normal with the New York City Marathon.

The course will be the same since there was little damage but getting to the finish line could still be an adventure for runners from outlying areas.

Such is life in Sandy's aftermath — disrupted trains, planes, buses and ferries, flooded buildings, blocked roads and knocked out power.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg saw none of this as insurmountable and defended the decision to hold the race, insisting resources wouldn't be diverted from storm victims. He noted Thursday that electricity was expected to be restored to all of Manhattan by race day, freeing up "up an enormous number of police."

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"This city is a city where we have to go on," he said.

City Council member Domenic Recchia Jr., however, called plans to hold the race "just wrong" in light of the ongoing misery among residents with no food, shelter or electricity.

The marathon brings an estimated $340 million into the city. Organizers will also use it as a backdrop to raise money for recovery efforts. New York Road Runners, which operates the event, will donate $1 million to the fund and said more than $1.5 million in pledges already had been secured from sponsors.

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Some runners will take ferries to the start on Staten Island as in past years. After the storm, organizers initially planned to use only buses, but the city wanted the ferry to be involved. Bloomberg expected full ferry service to resume by Saturday.

Runners from Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and New Jersey, with trouble reaching Manhattan, will be bused directly from those areas to the start. Organizers planned to release complete details on transportation Friday.

Many of the nearly 30,000 out-of-town entrants were still scrambling to get to New York, aided somewhat by the reopening of the area's three major airports. NYRR President Mary Wittenberg predicted more than 8,000 of the 47,500 entrants originally expected won't make it.

Wittenberg said runners who had to cancel did not seem concerned about losing their entry fee, per race policy, but were simply relieved they would be guaranteed a spot in the popular race next year.

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Kenyan runners, including men's favorites Wilson Kipsang and Moses Mosop, flew from Nairobi to London to Boston, then drove to New York, arriving late Wednesday.

Favorites in the women's race include Olympic gold medalist Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia, bronze medalist Tatyana Arkhipova of Russia and world champion Edna Kiplagat of Kenya.

The course winds from Staten Island to Brooklyn, then Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx and back into Manhattan for the finish in Central Park. The park was still closed Thursday, but will be ready by Sunday. The route has never included areas hit hard by flooding, such as Coney Island and Lower Manhattan

Meantime, many locals prepared for the race while coping with the messes Sandy left behind.

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Latif Peracha was evacuated from the Lower Manhattan neighborhood of Tribeca. While his building is flooded, his sixth-floor apartment is fine, but he can't move back for at least another week. On Thursday, he walked across the Williamsburg Bridge from where he is staying in Brooklyn to collect his running gear from his apartment.

He knew his first marathon was going to be special; now he believes it's so much more.

"I think it'll be a great testament to the city's resilience," he said.

Dave Reeder was supposed to fly from Denver to LaGuardia on Thursday with his wife and two children. Then they saw the photos of the flooded airport. Should they still try to make the trip?

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The race felt a bit "frivolous," he said.

Hearing Bloomberg on TV convinced him to try and he hoped to volunteer in relief efforts while in New York.

His family planned to watch from three points along the course, but subway closures may prevent it.

If they can't, it has practical implications for Reeder: He has type 1 diabetes, and his wife carries supplies he might need during the race. Reeder, who is running as part of Team JDRF to raise money for diabetes research, said from the Denver airport Thursday night that his flight was a go.

Julie Culley of Clinton, N.J., was stranded in Arlington, Va., when the storm hit. It turned out to be a blessing because she had power and could train.

An Olympian in the 5,000 meters, Culley is making her marathon debut. Her parents own a vacation home on Long Beach Island on the Jersey shore, which was rocked hard by Sandy.

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"I think our family probably escaped the worst of it," said Culley, whose parents were in Clinton when the storm hit. "I've seen terrible pictures of houses uprooted out of their foundations and houses completely knocked out."

Her parents told her if Long Beach Island is open Sunday, they'll go there and watch her on TV.

"Now that we know for the most part what the damage is and the storm's over," Culley said, "and we can put everything behind us and focus on the recovery effort in the state, I think now it's time to shift focus toward the marathon again."

Molly Pritz, the top American woman in last year's race with a 12th-place finish, knew her Tuesday flight out of Detroit would be cancelled. But her solution had a hitch: She's 24 and too young to rent a car. (25 is the minimum age at most agencies.) So her mother drove her Sunday.

What should have been an 11-hour ride took nearly 14 because of two accidents in Pennsylvania. But as they came into New York, the weather was clear and the roads empty.

"That's because no one else is an idiot driving into the hurricane," Mom said.

Runner's World magazine is converting its annual pre-marathon party Friday into a free meal for anybody still displaced by the storm. NYRR canceled Friday's opening ceremony and a 5-kilometer run Saturday to focus all resources on race day.

Wittenberg said the city needed to find the right time to take a step forward from the storm's devastation — and Sunday could be that time.

"It's hard in these moments to know what's best to do," she said. "The city believes this is best to do right now."

[cristianknight16]

I could never understand why someone would think that a MARATHON is more important than trying to help out the people that have been seriously devastated by the SUPER STORM SANDY. I can tell you not having a the resource s one thinks would never ever be depleted on a person like electricity, or heat or even the most abundant one ... water. Seriously Mr. Mayor forget about being strong sometimes and think not with your jingle-less pockets and with that small low sounding slow sounding drum beating of your tiny heart. Words can only bring satisfaction to the ears, create a movement with your actions and your hands instead of creating the coverup of excuses for not wanting to help people and not tapping into YOUR resources.

[zmarket]

Just look at the outage map and tell me if doing this race is the right thing to do:

http://apps.coned.com/stormcenter_external/default.html

[mariaob100]

Run the race. Just NOT now. I think it's a slap in the face to so many without power and homes right now - what a pompous idiot. I truthfully feel that if you have that many athletes in one place - haul them over to staten island and have them help dig out - right? Do the race next month - seriously - I am shakingmy head.

[daddycrc-2009]

All hes thinking about is the 300.00 that the runners had to pay to enter the race, IF the race isnt run they will have to refund that money, Prob is over half the ppl that entered cannot get there, and the moters still are charging ppls credit cards 300. to 400 a nt for the rooms..

[cbaustintx]

From another part of the US, this doesn't sit well. Pictures of people left with nothing. No food, clothing, heat or electricity. Mile long lines of cars waiting for gas. Neighborhoods completely destroyed. And they're holding a marathon?? If I lived in the affected area, I'd be peeved.

[lloydbest1]

"Mayor Michael Bloomberg.......defended the decision to hold the race, insisting resources wouldn't be diverted from storm victims. He noted Thursday that ELECTRICITY WAS EXPECTED TO BE RESTORED [my emphasis] to all of Manhattan by race day, freeing up "up an enormous number of police.""
There's really no way he can make such a statement. With much of NYC at a standing eight-count now, Mr. Bloomberg pretty much has to guarantee full power restoration by Sunday and I think that highly unlikely
But even if the long shot does hit home, those freed-up police resources will be busy enough doing other storm mitigation efforts. There would be little time or manpower to oversee an event that may bring 30000 extra people onto an island whose infrastructure is still fragile enough that it can't keep up with just the folks who live there.
Mary Wittenberg claims the marathon will bring a $340 million shot in the arm to the beleagured city. That a lot of lolly and, perhaps, the best arguement for support of running the race. That money, though is only anticipated - not in hand.
It's a tough call but while we're contemplating getting back on our feet ASAP, there are folks who are still in shelters and many others who have no heat or electricity - AND the NWS is hinting at another nor'easter hitting somewhere nearby by early next week.

I think we should run it. I just don't think we should run it this weekend.

[makemyday2da]

Bloomberg will take all the resources needed to get rest of the city back on its feet and ONLY focus on the area connected with the marathon. Live on Staten Island? Too bad, can't be bothered now when there's a marathon to run! Maybe they'll get to you sometime next week. What an awful decision to make that could have been postponed for a week or two to give people a chance to recover from the devastation! Selfish stupidity!

[BigMykul]

Wonder how this will affect his reelection next year???

[mturner1938]

Oops, misspelled Bloomberg...................:)

[mturner1938]

Bloombery says that the marathon won't divert any resources, then I really wonder where they got all the food, water and gasoline when the effort could have been to get these things to the people whho really need them.

[carolsue1ok]

how stupid is bloomburg. He can find generators, food and water for the runners and clear their route as people are doing without the same things. I hope the people don't find out in ny or I would storm their tents, take their generators and food and water. This is so stupid. Mr. Mayor how does this look to the rest of America. You are so caring. You are so stupid.